Almost every building that has a sloped roof has an eave trough to catch rain water running down the slope of the roof. Down spouts are positioned at intervals to drain water from the eave trough. In some neighbourhoods the down spouts are connected directly into a neighbourhood storm sewer system. In other neighbourhoods the down spouts drain water from the eaves trough onto the lot. It is undesirable to have water from the eaves trough discharged immediately adjacent a foundation of a building as water may seep through the foundation into the basement. A practise has, therefore, developed of having down spout extensions direct water away from the foundation of the house. These down spout extensions are generally pivotally connected to the lowest portion of the down spout. They pivot from a substantially vertical stored position to a substantially horizontal operative position. A stored position is required as, in their operative position, the down spout extensions extend across sidewalks, and other areas where they are unsightly and may present a hazard. The down spout extensions must be moved to the operative position when rain is forecast and returned to a stored position when they are no longer required. A number of patents relate to down spout extensions which are pivotable between a stored and an operative position. Canadian Patent 1,169,224 which issued to MacDonald and Johnson in 1984 discloses a trough extension provided with flexible rubber or elastomeric portions or knobs which engage the vertical downspout holding the trough extension frictionally in position without marring the downspout. Canadian Patent 1,188,476 which issued to Busat in 1985 discloses a bracket attachable to a downspout with a pair of arms extending outwardly from the bracket to engage and retain the pivotally mounted discharge conduit in a vertical position.
There are many occasions when this is not convenient and the down spout extensions do not get placed in an operative position before the rain, or do not get returned to a stored position promptly after the rain. Canadian Patent 1,022,320 which issued to Felsen in 1977 discloses a downspout with a pivotable extension movable between a stored and an operative position by means of an electric motor. The electric motor being activated by a humidity sensor to move the extension to an operative position when the humidity rises above a preset plateau.